The last time I camped outside a theater overnight to be one of the first people to see a new movie was ... no, wait, I've never done that. I actually have a life.

I'm sorry; I didn't intend to insult all you millions of "Twilight" fans. But I couldn't help myself.

When I see people with so much passion for a movie, my first thought is to wonder what's wrong with you. Then I wonder what's wrong with me. I wish I felt that passionate about a new movie. Maybe I should have camped outside the theater showing the movie "Grown-Ups." That might have been a bad example. The only person camping outside that theater overnight was Rob Schneider, who wanted to make sure he wasn't dreaming when his good friend Adam Sandler put him in another movie.

I wasn't an overnight camper in the Boy Scouts, so it was unlikely that I was ever going to rough it on a sidewalk outside a movie theater. You're either an overnight camper type, or you're not. On this one point, I have to agree with Joan Rivers – my idea of roughing it is when room service closes at midnight.

Coming from that perspective, I think it's understandable that I might view these "Twilight" fans with some measure of suspicion. But I'm trying to be a better person, and better people are more understanding people. Therefore, I am trying to understand why someone would feel so strongly about a movie that they would stand in a line outside a theater for hours just to buy a ticket.

I will not dismiss them on gender terms. A lot of guys are quick to assume that "Twilight" fans are nothing but a bunch of love-starved girls and women who are attracted to the eternal love triangle of Bella, Edward and the wolf man.

I have two words for those guys – "Star Wars."

How silly these guys must have looked as they camped out for days whenever a new "Star Wars" movie opened. There have been only three "Twilight" movies, as compared to six "Star Wars" movies. That's a lot of extra camping.

And here are two more words for those guys – "Batman" and "Spider-Man."

That's right; there are a lot of people on both sides of the gender aisle who have acted irrationally on behalf of a movie passion.

And I haven't forgotten you Harry Potter fans. My sister-in-law Laurie and her beautiful daughter Mercedes are crazy, and by that, I mean they are such insatiable Potter fanatics that they must read the new book when it is published, and then they must see the movie based on the previous book when it hits theaters. I know it's a little confusing, but the Potter movies are not in sync with the Potter books.

For instance, in the movies, Harry and his friends are still in school. In the books, they are living in Leisure World.

I cannot in good conscience include in this group those people who camp overnight for concert tickets. In those instances, one has to wait in line for a limited amount of tickets to a one-time event (unless, of course, it's a Bruce Springsteen tour and there are multiple shows in each city). Normally, you either wait in line, or you don't get to see the event.

Movies, on the other hand, run for weeks or months in theaters, and then there are second chances to see them on DVD or pay TV. You might even get a third chance to see them on an airplane at some point. It is rare that any concert is released on DVD, or shown in the friendly skies.

The only reason for camping overnight for a movie is either bragging rights ("I saw it first"), or an emotional need to see it.

All sarcasm aside, I think I understand how someone might not be able to wait one extra day to see their favorite movie characters in a new movie. I'd like to take it a step further and say that these people can't wait because they want to know what is going to happen to those characters, but I suspect that many of these early movie-goers have already read the book.

Once again, I'm not going to isolate this discussion to "Twilight" because these fans did not invent the phenomenon of overnight movie camping. They are only the latest in a long line of people with too much time on their hands.

But, it's summer, and according to news reports, nobody is working this summer. Everybody has to be somewhere, and perhaps waiting in line to buy tickets to see "Twilight" is more productive than working. It is certainly more fun.

And Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are much cuter than any guy in your office.

Related Links

Fans waited for hours at Irvine Spectrum to be among the first to see "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse." JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
"Twilight" devotees waited long hours to see "Eclipse," the third installment in the vampire saga based on the books of Stephenie Meyer. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Teenage "Twilight" fans while away the hours while waiting to see "Eclipse" on opening night. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Torrie Ornelas, 16, Allie Hastings, 16, and Amanda Olsen, 17, from Rancho Santa Margarita, hang out in line for "Eclipse," the latest installment in the "Twilight" franchise, at the Irvine Spectrum June 29. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Even though they had tickets, "Twilight" fans still camped in front of the Edwards Stadium 10 Theater in Brea Downtown to get the best seats for "Eclipse." LOU PONSI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Eager fans of "The Twilight Saga " were camped on the steps of the Edwards Theater in Brea Downtown Thursday afternoon, waiting to see the latest film in the series, "Eclipse." LOU PONSI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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